Redistricting moves Cooper, AHS homecomings to Saturdays

Reporter-News photo by Nellie Doneva
Gary Norman, owner of Gary's Floral Gallery, makes mums and garters for the Cooper High School homecoming. The homecoming football game against Lewisville Hebron is set for 2 p.m. Saturday at Shotwell Stadium.

Reporter-News photo by Nellie Doneva
Gary Norman fixes the bell on a mum.

"Friday night lights" will not be this year's Cooper High School homecoming theme.

Or Abilene High School's, for that matter.

For the first time since anyone can remember, the homecoming games will be played on a Saturday afternoon.

Abilene High will play Weatherford at 1 p.m. Oct. 11. Cooper will take on Lewisville Hebron at 2 p.m. Saturday.

"Honestly, this wouldn't be our first choice. There were a few who had voiced concern about the change, but understood when we explained that if we had opted for a Friday homecoming game, the available dates would have been either too early or too late in the fall for homecoming," said Cooper High School Principal Gail Gregg.

The awkward scheduling is a result of Abilene High and Cooper no longer being in the same district.

"When Abilene High and Cooper high schools were in District 3-5A, the schedule for playing in Shotwell Stadium worked out so both teams never competed for the Friday night dates, but now that Cooper is in District 4-4A, scheduling conflicts have both teams playing Shotwell the same week," Gregg said. "We could have had the homecoming game played on Thursday night or Saturday afternoon. We chose Saturday."

The homecoming dance, a student council fundraiser, is scheduled for the Nelson Park Festival Gardens at 9 p.m. following the game. The pep rally will still be on Friday morning.

But will the students still be stoked for the Saturday game?

"Enthusiasm is running high this year," said Cooper Athletic Booster Club President Gina Goettsch, who could see little downside about a Saturday game schedule. "This is one more exciting and positive aspect to our first year in a new district. We have had a successful year so far -- a new school logo and now a new day to play our homecoming game."

Gregg said the Friday homecoming pep rally will run shorter than usual this year.

"The pep rally takes on a different format for homecoming. It is more of a celebration where we will present the homecoming court and the hall of fame inductee. But this year, we will have a student assembly for our hall of fame inductee, Robert Holladay," Gregg said.